The Gauntlet
by silvershadeus
Summary: Every day Momoshiro walks down the same hallway. (MomoxRyo implications)


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So..umm...my attempt at a _PoT_ fic. It's easier for me to 'get' characters when I'm able to watch and listen to them, but as I've only read the manga up to chapter 49 or so my characterization of them is probably more than a little off. At any rate...yeah. And the 'boy from the Momoshiro's homeroom' can be known as 'generic OC'. >_o

And yes, I like the MomoRyo. ^_^

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Disclaimer: I do not own _Prince of Tennis_ - I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit. 

~ silvershadeus ~

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The Gauntlet 

Walking through the school halls, it was nearly impossible not to run into clusters of students holding what they imagined to be whispered conversations on a variety of topics. He had grown used to the phenomena a long time ago. He could even be found to be part of such a group on occasion, if the topic of discussion interested him enough. After all, he was a teenaged boy and not wholly immune to such things. 

There was one hallway in particular that he passed through every day that held within it an unusually large amount of such clusters. Most kept their voices low as if they thought the topic of their conversations had exceptional hearing, but loud enough to be heard by someone passing by. And to be honest, it was merely coincidence that he passed close enough to hear what was being discussed so often. Mere coincidence.

"Momoshiro!"

Smiling a little as he turned to face the speaker, Momo lifted a hand in greeting, trying and failing to place a name to the face. A boy from his homeroom, that much he did remember. A friendly enough sort, if he remembered correctly. Perhaps not the best student, but one that seemed to be well liked by most. And it seemed that everyone seemed to know him, or at the very least know _of_ him. 

"Hey," He said by way of greeting, hoping by some chance - miracle, perhaps - the other boy would re-introduce himself. "How's it going?"

The boy smiled and shrugged, eyes sliding towards the group of first-years Momo had just passed. The smile on his face gained a slight edge, eyes flicking back to Momo. "Well enough, I suppose. My biology class is doing a dissection today. Right before lunch."

Momo almost managed to hide his amusement at the look of disgust that crossed his classmate's face. 

"Bad luck, eh?"

The other boy laughed. "I guess so. How about you? You have tennis practice later, don't you?"

Wondering if maybe he should be worried that someone he didn't know all that well seemed to know his schedule, Momo shrugged. "Things are...good." He replied, deciding that the fact he had tennis practice nearly every day was a matter of record, if not actual - 

"I've noticed you always go this way when you head to homeroom." The other boy piped up. "It's kind of out of the way, don't you think?"

Looking at the boy, Momo saw...something in his eyes that made him uneasy. It was much the same look Echizen had sometimes, when he was sizing up an opponent. Momo had come to realize a long time ago that to Echizen, _everyone_ was an opponent in some form. And perhaps they truly were, the way some people treated him. Better to know your enemy than be caught by surprise when he struck.

"Maybe a little..." Momo hedged, dragging his thoughts away from the first year. "I like to go this way, you can see - "

"Hear, you mean." The other boy interrupted, catching Momo's eyes as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the group of gossiping students. "They really seem to be fascinated by him, don't you think? So much fuss for just one kid."

Momo's eyes narrowed slightly at the dismissive tone in the other boy's voice. If Echizen looked at other people as opponents, then Momo had learned to do the same for his sake. He didn't quite have that odd brand of...ruthlessness Echizen seemed to have, but he made for an effective protector in his own way. Not that he would have said Echizen actually _needed_ a protector, he was more than capable of taking care of himself, it was just that... 

The way Echizen moved through life seemed to be such a lonely one to him. Not quite expecting the worst out of people, but not quite expecting the best out of them either. 

"Maybe." 

The other boy smiled, not completely unpleasantly. "Do you really think he's such a mystery as they do? Is he really that hard to understand?"

Echizen reminded him of a cat sometimes. The way he watched things without seeming to. The way he always seemed indifferent to what went on around him. Then there was the way he toyed with his opponents when he played tennis. The mind games that he was so good at. 

Sometimes though, Echizen reminded him less of a housecat and more of a tiger. Left well enough alone, he was content to let things be. It was only when he was provoked that he showed his claws, another thing Momo had realized a long time ago about the first-year. 

"No." Momo answered truthfully. "He's not."

The other boy quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

Smiling, Momo nodded. "Echizen...he's easy enough to understand. If you bother to care."

The other boy's frown was replaced by an amused smile. "I thought as much. Otherwise you wouldn't bother to walk down this hallway everyday where the vultures circle."

Momo started at that. "Vultures?"

The other boy's expression hardened. "They call themselves his friends while they talk about him behind his back like he's some sort of circus sideshow. They`re luckier than they know he doesn`t _do_ anything about it."

Surprised at the anger in the other boy's voice, Momo opened his mouth to say something when the low murmuring behind them suddenly stopped. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the clustered students were pressed against the walls to allow a slight form through. He was painfully aware of how deathly quiet it had gone. Taking in the way all eyes were trained on that form, he felt his own narrow as he saw the way they all looked at that one person. Some were hopeful, others fearful, and still others... 

It was no wonder the boy didn't bother to look up as he passed through them, hat pulled low. 

"You know what I mean don't you, Momoshiro? They like to talk about him, but they never talk _to_ him. They hover around him, hoping for some crumb of acknowledgement from him, but do nothing to earn it. To deserve it."

Glancing at his classmate, Momo found himself staring at the boy's retreating back. A muffled squeal brought his attention back to the first years, and the one that held their attention. Shaking his head, Momo smiled and took a step forward.

"Hey, Echizen!"

The boy looked up at him and stopped, head tilted slightly to the side as he waited for Momo to walk up to him. Ryoma's expression hadn't changed, but Momo could see he was...if not pleased to see him, then definitely not displeased.

"Walk you to class?" Momo offered, smile widening as there were surprised gasps all around them. "It's the least I can do after last night."

Ryoma smirked as a forlorn little wail came from somewhere down the hall.

"That's the best you can do?"

Momo shrugged, taking Ryoma by the elbow to guide him down the hall past the shocked first-years. "For now, at least."

Ryoma snorted, but allowed himself to be led to his homeroom. 

"You know, Echizen...I walk this way every morning." Momo said as they turned a corner. "It wouldn't be too much trouble for me to walk you to class."

Ryoma glanced at him from under the brim of his cap, eyes thoughtful.

"It can't be easy, having to go through that by yourself every day."

Silence filled the space between them as they walked, Momo waving or calling out greetings to those he knew as they passed.

"No." Ryoma said quietly. "It's not."

Momo tried not to think about what it must be like to be the focus of attention for the things he could do, but never for who he was. He knew other people looked at Echizen like some kind of oddity. Knew that they called him arrogant and conceited, and perhaps he was, but what right did they have to say things like that about him? They didn't know him, didn't know the things he liked or disliked. All they knew was what they saw, and Momo knew that that wasn't all there was to Echizen. 

"Well then," He said brightly, "It's agreed."

For a moment it seemed as though Ryoma would object, but he simply shrugged as if it didn't really matter to him one way or another what Momo chose to do. 

Momo smiled and slowed to a stop outside Ryoma's homeroom. "Here you go, Echizen. I'll see you at practice. I want to work on that new move you helped me with last night."

Ryoma looked up at him, eyes searching his face. For what, Momo wasn't exactly sure, but knowing Ryoma as he did he felt he could take an educated guess. 

"No strings, Echizen. No strings."

Ryoma gave him a skeptical look, but made no comment.

Momo smiled and gave Ryoma a gentle push in the direction of his classroom. "Don't want to be late, do you?"

Ryoma shrugged and turned to the open the door, pausing to glance over his shoulder at Momo. Cocking his head to the side, Ryoma smiled slightly before turning back to face his classmates.

Momo's smile faltered as the door closed behind Ryoma. He would never be able to say that he completely understood the way Echizen felt, but at least he tried. Maybe that was the best thing he could do. The only thing, really.

Shaking his head, Momo headed off to his homeroom, smiling a little as he admitted to himself that maybe he didn't walk down that particular hallway because it had a nice view of the school grounds after all.

  
  


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End file.
